Snakes use sponge action to drink. ... Instead, Cundall thinks that skin creases in their lower jaw, which expand when the snakes swallow large prey, help them drink. Their tongues, he notes, are too small to lap up water, and are covered in a sheath that would prevent this even if they were larger.Feb 15, 2012

Origins. There is fossil evidence to suggest that snakes may have evolved from burrowing lizards, such as the varanids (or a similar group) during the Cretaceous Period. An early fossil snake relative, Najash rionegrina, was a two-legged burrowing animal with a sacrum, and was fully terrestrial.

A snake with heat-sensing pits is venomous. Triangular heads are another commonality in most venomous snakes. The rattlesnake, copperhead, and water moccasin all have arrowhead faces. If you can get close enough to see, pit vipers also have pupils that are oblong, like a slit.

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra tested various deadly poisons on condemned persons and concluded that the bite of the asp (from aspis—Egyptian cobra, not European asp) was the least terrible way to die; the venom brought sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain.

Snakes have no eyelids, so they can never close their eyes or blink. Instead of eyelids, thin clear membrane cover their corneas, called spectacles or brilles. These are attached to their skin. Although they can not close their eyes, they can close the retinas when they are sleeping.

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra tested various deadly poisons on condemned persons and concluded that the bite of the asp (from aspis—Egyptian cobra, not European asp) was the least terrible way to die; the venom brought sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain.

Sexing Snakes Using Tail Characteristics. Male snakes have a pair of hemipenes (sex organs) that normally sit inside their bodies and are shaped like tubes. They are located just below the cloacal (vent) opening and down along the tail on either side of the snake's midline.Oct 23, 2017

The baby snake loses this piece when it sheds its skin for the first time. With the shedding a new button appears. With every shedding after that another button, or rattle, will be added. These buttons are made up of a material called Keratin, which is what the scales and your fingernails are made of!

Snakes have many ways of protecting themselves. Their coloring alone is great camouflage and some snakes can burrow down under sand or leaves for extra coverage. ... Venomous snakes will try to escape or frighten off a hunter before ever trying to bite them.